Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Hon’ble Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology, flagged off indigenously designed and manufactured- Full Span Launching Equipment-Straddle Carrier and Girder Transporter to expedite the construction of viaduct for Mumbai- Ahmedabad High Speed Rail corridor, today through video conferencing here today.
The other key dignitaries present at the ceremony were Mr. Miyamoto Shingo, Hon’ble Minister, Embassy of Japan, Shri Suneet Sharma, Chairman & CEO, Railway Board, Shri Satish Agnihotri, MD, NHSRCL, Shri Anupam Kumar, Shri S N subrahmanyan, CEO & MD, L&T Construction.
Addressing the gathering, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Hon’ble Minister stated that to encourage Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan initiative, full span launching equipment of 1100MT capacity is indigenously designed and manufactured by M/s Larsen &Toubro at Kanchipuram, Chennai. M/s L&T has partnered with 55 Micro-Small Medium Enterprises .India is now coming in the select group of country like Italy, Norway, Korea, and China which have been designing and manufacturing such equipment. This will expedite construction of high speed railway, as is the proven technology in metro and similar projects. Work has already begun on 325 km  out of 508 km corridor between Mumbai & Ahmedabad. More than 97% land has been acquired for the project in Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and 30% land in Maharashtra. This project will improve skillset in various rail construction technologies. Japanese counterparts will provide training to National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited employees and also to contractors. More than 6000 workers are already working at various construction sites for the project, thus creating employment opportunities for the local youth.
He further stated that the Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project expected to create more than 90,000 jobs in this area including 51,000 jobs for technicians, skilled and unskilled workers.This project will boost the overall economy of the area by deploying 1000s of trucks, dumpers, excavators, batching plants, tunneling equipment and so on. It is estimated that 7.5 million ton of cement, 2.1 million ton of steel and 70000 tonnes of structural steel will be used in the construction. National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited is also preparing detailed project reports for seven high speed rail corridors. With the experience of execution of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project, the works of other corridors will be faster.
For the construction of viaduct superstructures of 508 km long, Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Project , the State-of-the-Art construction methodologies like Full Span Launching Methodology  will be adopted. This technology will expedite the process of launching girders as the precast girders of full span length will be erected as a single piece for double track viaduct. FSLM is used world over as it is faster than the segment by segment launching method, usually adopted for the construction of viaducts for metro system. India is now coming in the select group of countries like Italy, Norway, Korea, and China which have been designing and manufacturing such equipment.
The standard precast Pre Stressed Concrete  Box Girders  of span 30, 35 and 45 meters will be launched by using FSLM methodology for the high speed corridor. The heaviest PSC Box Girder weighing 975 MT and of 40 meter length will be used for the first time in the construction industry in India for MAHSR project.
To encourage Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan initative, FSLM equipment of 1100MT capacity is indigenously designed and manufactured by M/s Larsen &Toubro at their manufacturing facility in Kanchipuram, Chennai, for which M/s L&T has partnered with 55 Micro-Small Medium Enterprises .
A total of 20 number of such launching equipment will be required for the construction of viaduct 325 km of viaduct superstructures between Vapi and Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat.
Additional details about MAHSR project:
· Work has already begun on 325 km  out of 508 km corridor between Mumbai & Ahmedabad
· More than 97% land has been acquired for the project in Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and 30% land in Maharashtra
· This project will improve skill set in various rail construction technologies. Japanese counterparts will provide training to National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited employees and also to contractors.
· More than 6000 workers are already working at various construction sites for the project, thus creating employment opportunities for the local youth.
· It is estimated that the Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project will create more than 90,000 jobs in this area including 51,000 jobs for technicians, skilled and unskilled workers.
· This project will boost the overall economy of the area by deploying 1000s of trucks, dumpers, excavators, batching plants, tunneling equipment and so on. It is estimated that 7.5 million ton of cement, 2.1 million ton of steel and 70000 tonnes of structural steel will be used in the construction.
· National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited is also preparing detailed project reports for seven high speed rail corridors. With the experience of execution of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project, the works of other corridors will be faster.
Attachments:
1. The engineering features of STRADDLE CARRIER and GIRDER TRANSPORTER
2. Photographs of the event
The engineering features
STRADDLE CARRIER
This equipment is designed to handle the Full Span Precast girders from casting bed to stacking yard and further feeding them to Bridge Gantry for further erection. This is a tyre mounted self-propelled gantry crane having lifting capacity of 1100MT.
Technical Parameters:
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Self-weight
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845 T
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Dimensions
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52.5 x 37.0 x 21.9 Mtr 
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Speed of Travel
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1 Kmph – With Load
2 Kmph – No Load
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Hook Hoisting & Lowering Speed
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0.5 Mtr/Min – With Load
1.5 Mtr/Min – No Load
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Total no of Tyres
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80 Nos 
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Wheel Dimensions
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Diameter – 1.82 m
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Components Sourced from
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India , Germany, Spain and Austria 
GIRDER TRANSPORTER
This equipment is designed to transport the Full Span precast girders fed by Bridge Gantry to erection location.This is 27 axle tyre mounted self-propelled trolley of carrying capacity of 1100MT.
Technical Parameters:
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Self-weight
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387 T
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Dimensions
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58.5 x 8.5 x 3.5 Mtr 
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Speed of Travel
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5 Kmph – With Load
10 Kmph – No Load
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Total no of Tyres
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216 Nos 
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No of Axles & Axle load
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27 nos & 55T/Axle
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Components Sourced from
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India 
Germany, Spain and Austria